As much as she hated being in pain, she did enjoy being outside. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with fresh air as she took in the scenery. First, they walked through an open field and then woodland.
There was a few small buildings, including the medical center where she had been staying, surrounding one larger central building. A few people milled around, but none of them seemed to pay her or Connor any attention as they left medical and headed for the woods.
As soon as they disappeared from view, Anya felt her muscles loosen. She hadn’t known how tense she was until that moment. Listening to the birds singing while being surrounded by nature always helped her to relax.
The sights, the smells, and the sounds all rolled together soaked into her, soothing her and making her feel more at home. Even though she lived in the city, her heart would always feel more at home among the towering trees.
It was her dream to one day have a place of her own in the middle of nowhere. As much as she loved her apartment, it wasn’t hers at the end of the day. Renting was all well and good, but she didn’t want to live in someone else’s house for the rest of her life.
Never knowing if you’re going to get evicted from one minute to the next wasn’t an ideal way to live. She wanted more security than that, and the freedom to decorate however she liked without having to ask for permission first. Anya didn’t think it was too much to ask.
It would take some getting used to, mainly because of the constantly changing weather, but Scotland was by far the best place she had seen and felt she could happily settle down.
Maybe not this part, wherever she was, but she could definitely see herself living here.
Anya could have sworn the season were all screwy. One minute it’s the start of Autumn, and in the next it’s mid Spring. Even after witnessing how quickly the weather could change, she didn’t think it was possible for it to change seasons so drastically as well.
Anya had been so caught up admiring the stunning display of colours nature had to offer, and hoping to catch sight of the birds that were singing so beautifully, that she hadn’t noticed the large house hiding among the woods until they came into the clearing where it stood.
“Wow.” She breathed.
The house was stunning. A beautifully crafted log cabin as a large two storey family home. The way it nestled among the trees and plants made it all but disappear as it blended in with its surroundings. She didn’t know if it was planned that way, or a happy accident, but it worked well.
“This way.”
Anya jumped when Connor spoke, it seemed to be turning into a habit where he was concerned. It wasn’t that she forgot he was there, how could she possible forget a man like him was around, she just wasn’t expecting him to speak to her. Guys like him didn’t normally look in her direction, let alone speak to her.
“It’s just ‘round here.” He said walking away from her.
It was only then that she realized she’d stop to gawk at the house. But who wouldn’t stop to take in the beautiful architecture? The way plants climbed up and hugged the building made it look like mother nature herself accepted it as hers. And the smell… heavenly.
“I take it you like the look of my house.” He said as she followed him around the back of the house.
“It’s beautiful.” She noticed that he seemed please by her response. “Did you build it yourself?”
“Yes, I had some help from friends and family, but I designed it and I also did a lot of the work on my own.”
“I bet that took a long time.”
With the amount of work that must have gone into it, it must have taken him ages, and that was only looking at what was on the outside. She had yet to walk in and see what he had done inside. If what she’d seen so far was anything to go by, then she could imagine the inside was just as spectacular as the outside.
“It didn’t take too long.” He said.
“How long did it take?”
“There is still a couple of bits that need finishing…”
“Ha! See, it’s taken you that long, you still haven’t finished.”
Connor smiled and said, “It’s just the basement that needs finishing. I wasn’t sure what to do with it until recently. It took about six months all in all, and then I was moved in.”
Oh. My. God…he was even more devastatingly handsome when he smiled. For the second time that day, Anya had to check her mouth wasn’t wide open.
“That fast?” she said recovering quickly from the unexpected smile.
Anya was going to have to be on guard while around him, otherwise she might end up embarrassing herself. The last thing she wanted, was for him to see her lusting after him.
“We don’t hang around, if something needs doing, then we get it done as quick as possible.”
“Impressive.”
If Anya had been expecting to walk into an unfinished house, then she was sorely mistaken. Just like he said, it was completely finished and fully lived in. The interior done to the same standard as the exterior, if not better.
Anya finally caught up with Connor as he held the door open for her to enter first. She walked straight into a large open plan kitchen and dining room.
The cupboards looked as if they had been specially made out of solid oak to fit the room. All the mod cons were there as well, a large range cooker, American style fridge freezer, dishwasher, all in black to match the granite worktops.
A large solid oak dining table, more suited to a family than a single man living alone, stood proudly on the opposite side of the room from the kitchen. Eight chairs were placed neatly around it, but it could easily seat twelve without any problems.
“This way.” He said leading her through to a grand hallway.
Along one wall stood a sideboard with a large canvas hanging above it. A beautifully carved staircase stood proudly to the other side of the entrance hall. Stained glass added a delicate touch to the solid oak door, casting fascinating colours on the oak floor.
Anya automatically stopped when she came alongside the canvas. “Wow, that’s stunning.”
Painted on the canvas was a family of wolves in a woodland setting. The proud parents stood in the center along with two other family members, while two young pups ran around playfully.
“Whoever painted this is a fantastic artist.”
“I’ll let my friend know next time I see him, which will probably be at some point over the next couple of days.”
“Your friend painted this?”
“Yes, and I’m sure you will meet him while you’re here.” He said. “So, you can tell him yourself, if you like.”
“Does he sell any of his work.”
“No.”
“Would he consider selling any?”
“I don’t know, you would have to ask him. Your room is this way.” He said and walked off up the stairs before she could ask any more questions.
Anya got the hint. She wouldn’t bring up the subject again. It just seemed such a waste, with painting like that one, he could be making a great living.
There were even more paintings of wolves going up the stairs and along the hallway, occasionally she would spot a family portrait hanging among them.
“You must really love wolves.” She said absentmindedly.
“I do, yes.” He said, looking fondly at the pictures.
“I’ve never seen one before.”
“You haven’t?”
“No, I refuse to go to zoos. I would rather not see an animal, than see it in a cage. It doesn’t matter what they call it, or how much space they have, it’s still a cage.”
Connor nodded his agreement, but didn’t say anything on the matter.
“This is your room.” He said, opening the door for her. “The bathroom is across the hall, and my room is the door on the left next to the stairs.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Candi’s going to gather some clothes for you to wear and drop them off later.”
“Oh, okay,
thank you.”
Anya hadn’t even entered her mind what she was going to do for clothing while she was here. Thank god someone had thought about it, otherwise she would have to wear the same clothes every day. She didn’t even want to consider what she would have done when they needed cleaning.
“Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good, thank you.”
“You don’t need to keep thanking me, Anya.”
The way her name rolled off his tongue was like melted chocolate…delicious, but ultimately bad for you.
“Um… I think… I’m going to rest for a bit… if that’s okay?”
Yeah, that was smooth, Anya, real smooth. What the hell was wrong with her? It was like she was turning into a school girl with her first crush or something.
“That’s okay, I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”
“Um… Okay… thank you.” Anya could have kicked herself at that moment if he hadn’t been watching her.
Connor just smiled as he shook his head and walked away, leaving her to berate herself as she stood in front of an empty doorway.
Seriously, she needed to pull herself together before she spent any more time around him. If not, it was only a matter of time before she made a complete fool of herself. If she hadn’t already.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Connor took pride in his home and was always pleased when someone showed appreciation for what he built. But for some reason, knowing Anya liked his home affected him differently, but he didn’t know why. It shouldn’t have mattered to him whether she liked it or not, but for some reason it did. It mattered a lot.
When she stopped to look at the pictures, he commissioned Kellen to paint, he waited with bated breath for her reaction. He couldn’t tell her it was a portrait of his family in their wolf forms, so he let her assume it was just an ordinary painting of a wolf family.
He loved the fact she admired the artwork, but he hadn’t been expecting her to speak so passionately about animal welfare. He whole heartedly agreed with her, no animal deserved to live out their lives in a cage. Especially for the sole purpose to entertainment others. The whole idea was barbaric.
Connor walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat before making a start on the basement. Since he was at home for the next few days at least, he might as well get as much work done as he could. Thankfully, Amelia had stopped by earlier in the day and stocked up his fridge and cupboards, otherwise there would be nothing in to eat.
He knew what Anya must have thought when she saw the size of his dining table, and his home for that matter. It may be a bit big for just himself, but he built it in preparation for making it a family home for his future mate and pups. Not that Anya needed to know that.
After having something to eat, he made his way down to the basement. Hoping it would take his mind of sleeping beauty upstairs, he threw himself into clearing out the space ready for dividing it up and turning it into separate usable rooms.
Hours passed as he laboured away. Once the room was clear, he moved onto the next stage in the development. Before he knew it, the space was starting to take shape.
Satisfied with the progress he’s made, Connor packed up his tools and headed for the bathroom. Covered in dirt and grime, he stripped off before turning on the shower. Without waiting for the water to heat up, he stepped in. Not being one for spending ages in the shower, he quickly washed, making sure not to miss any part of his body and hair.
Candi and Myra arrived not long after, carrying a bag of clothes for Anya as promised.
“Hey big bro, how’s it going having a female living under the same roof as you?” Myra said.
“She’s not living with me, she’s just staying until she’s well enough to go home.”
“Isn’t she the one you’ve been dreaming of?”
“Who told you that?”
“Aidan.”
“Of course, he did.” Connor should have known Aidan would tell Myra. He always did like to gossip, just like the females, in fact, sometimes he was worse than the females.
“What’s that?” Candi asked.
“Connor’s been dreaming of the female.” Myra told her.
“I heard Rush say something about him dreaming of her when they were at medical earlier.” She shook her head. “But I thought I was hearing things. How long has that been going on?”
“No, you heard right. It’s been about two weeks now.”
“So even before she arrived?”
“Yep.”
Connor disliked how they spoke about him as if he wasn’t even in the room. They seemed to forget who’s house they were in.
“Oh, wow, what do you think that means?”
“I think it means she’s his mate.”
“Really? What about Rush? Has he said anything?”
“She’s not my mate.” He stated. Not that they listened.. Instead, they carried on talking as if he wasn’t there.
“Apparently he doesn’t know.”
“Do you mind?” he asked them.
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Talking about me as if I’m not here, it’s my bloody house.”
“Yeah, we know, we’ve been here a while now and you still haven’t offered us anything to drink. Mum would be ashamed of your skills as a host. Is this the way you’ve treated Anya?
Or did you at least ask her if she wanted a drink when she got here?”
“I asked if she wanted anything when I showed her to her room.”
“So, you took her straight upstairs?”
“Yes, I was showing her where she was staying.”
“You dick head. She probably thought you didn’t want her down here.”
“No, she said she was going to rest.”
“That’s because you took her straight to her room.” Myra shook her head at him and headed towards the hall. “I’m going to see if she’s okay.”
“Really Connor?” Candi said as she followed Myra out the room.
“What have I done?” he shouted after them, but they didn’t reply.
Females, no matter how long he lived, he would never understand them.
***
Anya woke to a gentle tapping on the door. It took her a moment to remember where she was and then it all came flooding back. The tapping came again, along with muffled talking on the other side of the door.
“One sec.” She said loud enough for whoever it was to hear.
Sitting up too quickly, her chest revolted at the sudden movement, reminding her that she needed to take it easy.
“Fuck. That hurt.” She mumbled to herself.
“You okay in there?” Came Candi’s voice from the other side of the door.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She lied and winced in pain. “Just give me a minute.”
Preparing herself, she took a deep breath before continuing. After a lot of huffing and puffing, she was finally on her feet. Still fully dressed, she walked over to the door and opened it for Candi to come in.
“Hi, Anya. This is Connor’s sister, Myra.” She introduced the woman with her.
“Hi, Anya. It’s nice to meet you.” She said with a friendly smile.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too.”
“I’ve brought a bag of clothes for you. They should fit fine.”
“Thank you.” She said taking the bag Candi held out for her.
“You can keep them as long as you need.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, the person I borrowed them from has loads of clothes, and I mean a massive collection, she can’t even wear that many in a year.” She winked.
“Hey! I don’t have that many clothes.” Myra said looking offended. “But Candi’s right, keep them as long as you need.”
Taking a better look at Myra, Anya agreed they seemed about the same size.
“Yes, you do. There are more clothes than anything else in your house.”
“What can I say? I like clothes.”
Can
di just shook her head, smiling, before turning back to Anya. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
“I could do with something to eat and drink.”
“Okay, we’ll go downstairs and get you sorted. You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Good, let’s go.” Myra said. “My brother is a really good cook.”
“I can vouch for that.”
Anya followed Candi and Myra out the room, fixing her hair back into a pony tail as best she could.
“Tell me if he doesn’t take care of you properly, I’ll set my mum on him.” Myra said.
When they walked into the kitchen, they found Connor leaning against the counter with a cup in his hand.
Forcing herself to look away from his captivating eyes, she made the mistake of looking down, nearly bumping into Myra as she suddenly stopped in front of her.
“There’s coffee in the pot if you want any.” He told the three of them.
“Ooh, yes please.” Candi said, beelining it for the pot. “Do you two want one?”
“Yes, please.” Anya said.
“Take a seat, Anya, I’ll bring it over.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, what about mine?” Myra asked.
“You’re fit and healthy, you can get your own.” Candi said laughing.
“So unfair.” Myra pouted.
Anya couldn’t help but smile. She could easily see herself being friends with these two women. Thinking about friends brought up thoughts of Sasha. She must be going out of her mind with worry. There was nothing Anya could do to alleviate those worries at the moment, but she vowed to make it up to Sasha when she finally got home. Whenever that was going to be.
“Here you go, Anya.” Candi said handing her the mug.
“Thank you.”
Watching the three of them interacting, Anya could see the bond between them. Even though Candi wasn’t related to them, she didn’t appear to be treated like an outsider, more like an extended member of the family.
“What would you like to eat?” Myra asked her.
“Just some toast will do me fine.”
“You need to eat properly if you’re going to get better.”
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